While President Bush and Barack Obama deftly dodged the issue of Barry Bonds, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her GOP counterpart, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), made no bones about the way they feel.

Pelosi and Boehner were equally as resolved in their opposite reactions to Bonds' record-breaking homer Tuesday night. Then again, what else was Pelosi supposed to say about her district's controversial home-run king?

She wasn't there in person at San Francisco's AT&T Park to see Bonds hit No. 756 in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals, but here's what she said in a statement:

"Barry Bonds etched his name into baseball's history books and took his rightful place among the sport's immortals. It was a great night for baseball and a great night for San Francisco -- the crowd went wild. It was particularly exciting to see Willie Mays embrace him on the field and see Hank Aaron congratulate him on the Jumbotron. As a season ticket holder, I am particularly glad it happened on the Giants' Italian night."

Boehner, a Cincinnati Reds fan, was less than thrilled. Asked by radio show host Frank Beckmann of WJR in Detroit whether Barry Bonds should have an asterisk next to his name in the history books Boehner emphatically replied, "Absolutely, absolutely, I'm a big Hank Aaron fan. He did it the right way - he earned it."

UPDATE: Later on Wednesday, after raising questons about whether he would or wouldn't, President Bush finally placed a congratulatory call to Bonds. (Bush did, after all, call Phil Mickelson after he won the 2004 Masters.)

For the record, put Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the bobbing-and-weaving department. For a guy who was so outspoken on the need for drug testing standards a few years ago after the Bonds controversy erupted, he sure is being tight-lipped now. His campaign did not respond to requests seeking the GOP presidential candidate's reaction to Bonds.

By Mary Ann Akers  |  August 8, 2007; 10:55 PM ET
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